Vista advances to section championship soccer game

Vista del Lago has made it back to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV championship soccer game.
The Eagles will face East Union Saturday at a time and place to be determined tomorrow after both won semifinals matches today, Vista defeating Sierra 5-0 and East Union knocking off Central Valley, 5-2.
The Eagles enter the game with a 17-0-1 record, coming off the dominating win over the Timberwolves. Tim Fairley and Mark LePage did most of the damage, as Fairley scored three goals, all three assisted by LePage, while LePage added one goal, which was assisted by Fairley. Fairley also assisted on Matthew Raymond’s goal.
“It felt like everything was clicking,” LePage said after the game. “It’s great to see it come together at this time of year.”
Vista’s first goal, coming 23 minutes into the game, came off a corner kick from LePage, which Fairley headed into the back of the net. Five minutes later, Fairley chipped a ball up in the air in the goal box and Raymond knocked it by the keeper for a 2-0 lead.
LePage and Fairley hooked up one more time in the first half, as LePage played a ball up to Fairley, who used his left foot to put the ball in the goal, capping off the three-goal rally in 10 minutes of game clock.
The Eagles scored twice in the second, the first coming when Fairley took a shot that deflected off the Sierra goalie and off of LePage, who was right in front of the net. The ball bounced off the goalie and off of LePage and by the goal line for Vista’s fourth goal.
The final goal was a carbon copy of the game’s first goal, a corner kick taken by LePage, which Fairley got a head on and the ball went into the net.
“The team played hard and did a good job,” Vista coach Joe Esfandiary said. “Once we got that first goal, we got moving.”
The Eagles have scored the first goal in every game this season, according to Fairley, and accomplishing that feat one more time on Saturday would go a long way into helping the team win a second straight section title.
“It’s worked for us so far this year,” Fairley said. “Once we got that first goal tonight we played better. Even if we don’t get the first one Saturday, we will get back into and get some goals.”
The Eagles have breezed through the season with ease and need one more win over the East Union (15-7-2) to win the prize.
“We just have to stay focused,” LePage said of Saturday’s game. “We can’t think we’re too good. We’ve got to come out fast and stay at it.”